The kiln gives a final answer that enthusiasm cannot negotiate.

Some steps do not care how much you want the result. Heat, chemistry and time answer according to what you actually did, not according to how hopeful you were while doing it. That indifference feels harsh, but it is also what makes the craft honest: the work is tested by something that cannot be charmed. Enthusiasm belongs earlier, in the preparation, where it can still change the outcome.

Look at whatever you are making for the point where the decision leaves your hands. Ask what would need to be right before then, and put your energy there rather than into hoping afterwards.